Lock gate



July 20,1926. 1,593,306

' L- LAWSKE ET AL I LOOK GATE Filed March 21, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet l July 20, 1926. 1,593,306

L. LAWSKI' ET AL LOCK GATE Filed March 21. 1923 s Sheets-Sheet 2 w m m 7M Patented July 20, 1926.

LAR'S LAWSKI AND AXE-L EKWA'LL, OF STGCKHEOLM,

LOCK GATE.

Application filed March. 2,1, 1923, Serial No. 626,581,. and in Germany March 23, 1922.

This invention relates to lock gates, the principal object of. the invention beingto provide a gate of such form that the resultant water pressure in all positions of the gate will be directed at or near the axis of rotation of the gate, thus making it possible to open or close the gate even. under a great head with the expenditure. of a minimum amount of energy, the water currents being at the same time so directed when passing the gate as to facilitate the sluicing of vessels in the lock, and which gate will withstand the head equally well at both sides thereof.

Vvith the foregoing and other objects in View, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features of construction and combination of parts which will be more .fnlly described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings accompanying and form.- ing part of this qoecification Fig. l is a sectional plan View of a lock,

showing diagrammatically one form of gate constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2' is a View similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified form of gate;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view on a larger scale, showing a pair of gates of the form shown in Fig. 2, one of said gates being partly open;

Fig. 4t is an end View of a lock, showing the gate in closed position.

The same characters of reference designate the same parts in the diflierent figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, the lock 1 is flanked at both sides thereof with walls in each of which is formed a gate chamber 5 opening toward the lock. At one edge of the opening of each chamber a gate 2 is pivoted on a vertical pivot 3. In the form shown in Fig. 1, each gate comprises horizontally disposed top and bottom members of approxi mately triangular form in plan view, said members being united along one edge or base by a vertically dispose-d wall 4. The top and bottom members of the gate are pivoted at their apices opposite said wall, the wall being curved in a line forming an arc of a circle whose axis of rotation is at 3. The distance between the pivot 3 and the vertical edges of the wall 4 of the gate is slightly less than the width of the entrance. to the gate chamber 5, whereby said Wall t-moves. through a vertical plane close to the wall of the entrance to the gate chamber. By this construction water is kept from entering the gate. chamber, but will flow, as shown at the right in Fig. 1, between the two cooperating gates. The impact of the water current, however, causes a slight displacement. .in the position of the resultant, the eltect of which will be a twisting moment which will exert its force to assist in opening or closing the gate, according to the direction of the head- In the form shown in Fig. 12, the construction of the gate is the same as that of Fig. 1, except thatthe portion. of the wall t between i-ts vertical edges lies in an arc of a circumterence which is smaller than that in which the edges 72. are disposed, so that when the gate is swung on its pivotto carry its inner edge within the chamber a space or gap is formed between the wall 4 and the wall of the chamber opening. By reason of this construction the water is permitted to pass into the chamber when the gate is in any of its intermediate positions, that is, in any position between its fully open and fully closed positions. By making the distance from. the pivot 3 to one vertical edge of the wall 4 somewhat longer or shorter than the distance from said pivot to the other edge of the wall, the water pressure may be utilized to assist respectively in closing or opening the gate.

The gate is preferably constructed of framework, in which the portion 6 (Fig. 4) between the upper and lower pivotal points is left open to facilitate the passage of water thereby to produce a more even distribution of the water and consequently a quieter sluicing. This construction also provides a free passageway for ice.

Vihen filling or emptying a look by the use of the gates shown in Fig. 2, the gates must be swung with constant or gradually increasing speed. The water will then flow between and around the gates until the surface of the water at both sides of the pair of gates is at the same level. When this is accomplished, the opening of the gates may be completed with greater speed.

By reference to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the distance between the edge a of the wall of the chamber opening and the edge Z) of the gate will be widened proportionately to the angular movement of the gate when being opened. In order to facilitate the passage of water through this gap, the surfaces of the chamber wall and gate respectively contiguous to said edges a and b are so formed that the width of the entire waterway between the gate and the chamber wall will be increased in proportion to the angular movement of the gate. In other words, the space between the gate and the edge of the chamber wall at the point Z must be nearly as wide as the space between the side edge of the gate and the chamber wall at the point Z, and the formation of the wall and gate must be chosen with reference to the path through which the point 12 of the gate passes before the water surfaces on both sides of the gate are at the same level.

In order to obtain the best distribution of the water and the quietest sluicing, the rear wall 7 of the'gate chamber is made flat and lies in a plane at an angle of approximately 90 to the longitudinal axis of the lock.

, An examination of Fig. 1 discloses that a gate such as that herein described is equally effective to take up the head 7L at one side when the water level o t is higher than 03 as it is to take up the head 2 on the opposite side when the water level r g is higher than oy Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. A lock gate, comprising a wall provided with a chamber having an open entrance, and a gate having'a horizontally disposed approximately triangular top and bottom members and a vertically disposed curved wall uniting said members along one edge of each, said top and bottom memaeee bers being pivoted at the ap'ices thereof 0pposite said wall to one side of the entrance to said chamber, the distance from the pivotal points to the curved wall being less than the width of the chamber entrance whereby said wall is adapted to swing entirely with in said chamber.

2. A lock gate as set forth in claim 1, the portion of said wall between its side edges being in an arc of shorter radius than said side edges, whereby When the gate is swung on its pivot a space is formed between said curved wall and the wall of the chamber.

A look gate as set forth in claim 1, the curvature of said wall being such that when the gate is swung on its pivot a space is formed between said wall and the chamber wall, the width of said space being proportionate to the swinging movement of the gate.

1-. A look gate as set forth in claim 1, the rear wall of said chamber being fiat and lying in a plane at an angle of approximately 90 to the longitudinal axis of the lock.

5. A look gate as set forth in claim 1, the portion of said wall between its side edges being in an arc of shorter radius than said side edges whereby when the gate is swung on its pivot a space is formed between said curved wall and the wall of the chamber, the gate being of open construction between its pivotal connections thereby to form a passageway therethrough.

In testimony whereof we have aifixed our signatures.

LABS LAWSKI. AXEL EKl/VALL. 

